Manners

Throughout my life I've seen many interactions between people and the one thing that seems to be the main factor whenever those interactions go sour is manners, or a lack there of. I've found that with the vast majority of people, as long as you treat them with basic respect, they will in turn treat you with that same respect. I have found that the phrase "trouble only comes to those who seek it" rings very true in most cases. I think the reason that most people will get into conflicts with others is that either they choose to disregard the basic manners that they know to be appropriate, or they simply didn't have said manners to begin with. How people are raised is key to how they treat others. If you weren't taught politeness growing up, you will have never known how to treat people properly in the first place, and are bound to get into more conflicts than most people. Most often, however, people have been raised right and know fully well how we should treat others. I was raised with a few key lessons that have stuck with me to this day; first, be respectful. When I was young and showed disrespect to someone in any way, shape, or form, my parents would quickly reprimand me and that really shaped me up to be the person that I am today. Second; when you go out of your way for others, they will be likely to do the same for you. To me, karma isn't some mystical force, it's more of a give and take between individuals and groups that cements a beneficial relationship for both parties. For instance, if you go out of your way to take time to help someone move, the odds of them doing the same for you drastically increases. Third; if you are polite, more doors will open than close for you. I've found this to be especially true when it comes to professionalism. If you aren't socially off putting, you're much more likely to get interviews, be invited to second meetings, and other professional affairs. Now back to manners in general, there was one recent incident I was told of that really stuck with me. I was helping a customer at work, and as we began talking, the conversation turned to how the other day someone, obviously intoxicated, actually spit on the man I was talking to. He told me that he ended up physically fighting with the offender and, in his words, "beat his ass." While I've never had an encounter quite that extreme, it made me wonder what I would have done in the same situation. I certainly didn't feel very bad for the man who spit on the customer, since the consequences he received could have been very easily avoided had he simply not shown the disrespect. It also made me wonder how many senseless conflicts in the world could have been avoided simply by people choosing to show common decency instead of going out of their way to disrespect others. Ultimately, I think that as long as you follow the golden rule, treat others as you wish to be treated, your experiences throughout life will be substantially more positive.